An an explosion Wednesday afternoon at the grain elevator in Pine Island, Minnesota shook the town and ignited a large fire at the Farm Country Co-op on Main Street.
Crews from the Zumbrota Fire Department were called around 1:45 p-m and quickly scrambled to battle the fire and put down the flames. The fire was extinguished but crews continued to spray water on the elevator for more than an hour.
There were no injuries in the blaze, and the cause isn't clear, Pine Island Fire Chief Patrick Pike told the Rochester Post-Bulletin.
"I heard a loud boom, like an explosion," said 52-year-old Marcia Kuhn of Texas, who is staying with relatives who live across the street from the elevator. "We ran outside and we saw at the top of the elevator there were flames coming out of it."
The tower where the fire started is called a leg, and it used to transport grain, Pike said.
Elevator General manager Noel Frana said he didn't have a cost estimate on the damages, which he said need to be repaired quickly because it is a critical time of the year for the business.
"We've got to get things going here pronto because we're trying to get ready for fall harvest," he said. "It's a busy time of the year for us."
